Working Group 8: Climate Debt

Climate debt is an obligation of compensation that is generated because of the damage done to Mother Earth by the irrational emissions of greenhouse gases. The primary responsible for these irrational emissions are the so-called “developed countries “, inhabited by only 20% of the world population, and which emitted 75% of historical emissions of greenhouse gases. These states, which stimulated the capitalist development model, are responsible for climate debt, but we shouldn’t forget that within these states, there live poor and indigenous peoples which are also affected by this debt. The most affected are the poorest developing countries, future generations and our Mother Earth.

The colonization of atmospheric space has produced climate change, which poses a serious threat to the islands, coastal areas, glaciers in the Himalayas, the Andes and the mountains of the world, the poles of the earth, hot regions like Africa, water sources, growing natural disaster-affected populations, plants and animals, and ecosystems in general, generating climate debt.

The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change recognizes that obligation by affirming that developed countries are historically responsible for those emissions, and in sustaining that they should take the initiative to combat climate change. This fact is expressed in the existence of the Kyoto Protocol, under which countries obligated to reduce greenhouse gases are the developed countries listed in Annex 1 of the Convention.

2. CLIMATE DEBT COMPONENTS

The responsibility for the climate debt of each developed country is established in relation to the level of emissions, taking into account the historically emitted amount of tons of carbon per capita.

a-Emissions Debt

We understand as the emissions debt the over-use of space atmospheric by greenhouse gases pollution by developed countries, taking into account the equal rights of all countries in the world to have access to the use and enjoyment of atmospheric space. Developed countries must compensate as follows:

• They are required to reduce high concentrations of greenhouse gases they caused,

• They also have to reduce their emissions and absorb greenhouse gases,

• They must ensure a space for development for poor countries.

We express our rejection of the fact that developed countries decide to choose freely how deep cuts they intend to do, as proposed in the Copenhagen Accord.

b-Development Debt

Developing countries are entitled to the same opportunities for development, to provide basic services to the entire population, and a degree of industrialization which allows the country’s economic independence; But this development must not harm the environment and atmosphere. To achieve this development within a highly restricted access to the atmospheric space, they need access to all technologies -according to their worldview- for the development and funding required for its implementation.

Among the technologies we require are: recycling of waste materials, improvement of traditional techniques with new technologies, access to clean energy sources – solar, wind and biogas digesters, forms of protection against natural disasters, research into vaccines and medicines diseases enhanced by climate change, among others.

c- Adaptation Debt

The impacts of climate change make the rain loose its seasonality, loss of fresh water sources, increased hail, frost, droughts, floods. They decrease crop and livestock production. The population is suffering from an increase in various diseases.

These impacts have many implications on economical and development level, wherefore those who caused the climate crisis have the responsibility to compensate all damages, through: investing (with funding and technology) in the prevention of major impacts, full compensation for the negative impacts that actually happen and compensating opportunity costs, which involve the deviation of development funds, among others.

d- Migration Debt

Due to climate impacts, millions of people find their own land uninhabitable, converting them into climate migrants. The compensation of the migration debt implies that the so called ‘developed’ countries must drop its restrictive migration policies, receiving them in their countries with dignity, and recognition of their human rights and cultural rights.

e-Debt to Mother Earth

The debt to Mother Earth is impossible to compensate completely, because the atrocities committed by humanity have been too terrible. However, the minimum compensation of this debt consists in:

• In recognition of the damage done,

• the restoration of harmony with Mother Earth

• the adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Mother Earth’s Rights, to ensure that the same abuses will never be repeated in future.

This is to ensure that capitalism and the drive for profit does not contravene the ultimate interests of Mother Earth and the peoples of the world.

3 .- HOW CAN DEBT BE COMPENSATED

Compensation for climate debt is to be done through multiple ways, which complement each other. Indispensible minimal elements are:

• The re-absorption and cleaning the atmosphere by developed countries

• Payment in technology (eliminating patents) and in knowledge according to our worldview for both clean development and for adaptation to developing countries

• Financing,

• Changes in immigration laws that allow us to offer a new home for all climate migrants.

• The adoption of the Declaration on the Mother Earth’s Rights.

In addition we need to work on the structural causes that caused the climate debt, providing education for children, political awareness, and respect for Mother Earth.

Climate debt is part of a larger ecological debt, which in addition to gas emissions includes all environmental damages that were made in developing countries for the benefit of developed countries.

4 .- STRATEGIES TO ENSURE THE CLIMATE DEBT COMPENSATION

To ensure full compliance with the climate debt are needed:

• The establishment of an international body that determines the responsibilities of polluter countries

• The creation of an International Tribunal for Climate Justice, impartial, which has jurisdiction in cases of default of repayment of the debt

To encourage a research study the responsibilities of climate change, determining the climate debt

To promote international awareness that the fulfilment of the climate debt is an obligation on the part of developed countries, and is not aid granted us.

CONCLUSIONS

We hold the capitalist system and the developed capitalist countries as the main cause of climate change generated climate debt

From this pre-conference we demand the enforcement of the payment of climate debt

We, who live in harmony with Mother Earth, and we are her main defenders; from here we call on all humanity to join the struggle for the preservation of life.

2 comments

What are the components of climate debt? To whom do developed countries owe this debt? How can we compensate for or repair the damage incurred? The mission of this working group is to produce a text that sistematizes and expands upon the concept of climate debt, enumerating its components, its creditors, and forms of compensation.

I will address myself to the issue of compensation in the last sentence of your statement of purpose.

In producing your text you may want to include the practical proposal of the establishment of a UN Commission on Monetary Transformation and the Climate Crisis. This Commission would investigate and recommend ways of connecting the international monetary system to the solution of the climate crisis. One way of making that connection is the proposed Tierra Fee & Dividend system of the International Institute of Monetary Transformation.

The system uses the Fee & Dividend system as its carbon reduction methodology as opposed to the cap-and-trade approaches that are supported by the EU and the USA. The system’s main supporters are climatologist James Hansen (Chapter 9 in his 2009 book Storms of my Grandchildren, particularly pp 219-22), economist Komanoff of the Carbon Tax Center, legislators Van Hollen and Larsen of the US House of Representatives and most of the thousands of people who have chosen carbon taxes rather than carbon trading as their carbon reduction methodology.

This more effective, fair and formidable carbon reduction methodology is wedded with the monetary dimension of the Tierra which is, in its first phase, a carbon-based international reserve currency which is the accounting unit of the de-carbonization monetary standard. The standard would function as the gold standard of old.

As the Tierra Fee & Dividend system is based upon the fact of ecological indebtedness of countries in the global North to the ecological creditor countries in the global South, the annual allocations of Tierras become part of the compensation via the carbon accounts in their balance of payments. Like the need for rebalancing the global financial imbalances, the need for rebalancing the global ecological imbalances lead to a transfer of Tierras and other funds from the ecological debtor countries in the global North to the ecological creditor countries in the global South.

Instituting such transformation in the global reserve system does not only help in terms of financing for climate justice it also frees up the millions of dollars for developing countries’ climate and development programs that are now held captive because of the lack of a workable international monetary system. Adopting the Tierra monetary architecture, first in its phase of reserve currency and later on in its phase of vehicle or world currency would greatly and beneficially impact on the international financial, economic and commercial systems which presently still enrich the few, impoverish the many and imperil species and planet.

Tierra Fee & Dividend system presents a transformational change that deserves to be considered by the UNFCCC, the CSD and particularly the Rio 2012 Earth Summit. The start for acceptance of the practical proposal of a UN Commission on Monetary Transformation and the Climate Crisis in which this bold and innovative monetary component is seriously to considered has been made by the strong interest of the Bolivian Mission at the UN in New York City. Hopefully, this working group will include it in its final report as a major form of ecological compensation. A similar presentation is being presented to working groups 12 (Financing) and 16 (Action Strategies) where additional information can be found besides the Institute’s website and blog on http://www.timun.net.

I think it is also important that the working group builds on the NGO Treaty #23 on Debt of the Rio Earth Summit that was produced by the NGO Forum “Commitments to the Future”. I think that the structure of its Treaty is possibly a model for this working group. After having presented 14 “Considering” as a preamble, the Treaty lists 14 pledges and ends with 6 strategies and 3 tasks of Coordination.